See the Sun
by cranberrysoup
Summary: A SOLDIER and a cadet- living and loving, healing and breaking, fighting and laughing, and where they find themselves when the sun rises. Song-inspired ficlet collection.
1. Here Comes the Sun

This is a re-post of some parts of _Medicine of the Mind_, a song-inspired collection of ficlets. I'm grouping all of the Zack/Cloud-related ones here for organizational reasons. Also, they're the ones I like best (those two are just too precious!). Some may be interpretable as slash, but anything including actual malexmale relationships will come with a warning in the chapter header so that those who disapprove may have the opportunity to move on quickly and quietly and not bother me with complaints or flames.

Got that? Excellent. Moving on, then.

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownage.

-

**Here Comes the Sun**

The Beatles

Cloud hugged his knees to his chest as he gazed down at Nibelheim from his vantage point at the top of one of the grassy foothills overlooking the little mountain town. The air was so fresh up here, he'd nearly forgotten how it smelled—clean, crisp, and piney—after all of the stench and mako pollution in Midgar.

As he watched, a spiky black head of hair bobbed its way up the hill towards him. Cloud smiled slightly. He didn't really want to reveal himself to his villagers this time around, but he would at least visit his mother. And boy, would she be surprised at the esteemed friends he'd made in Midgar!

"Heya, Spike," Zack said cheerily as he reached the small blond, sitting down beside him on the grass. Cloud acknowledged the SOLDIER with a small smile and a tilt of his head. Zack then looked down at Cloud's hometown, and laughed softly.

"Pretty backwater, if you ask me," he said, violet eyes glinting mischievously. Cloud chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so," Cloud said. He leaned back on his arms and closed his eyes, breathing in the fresh breeze, the sunlight-warmed air, and that musky and companionable scent—aftershave, woods, sweat, sun, grass—that was so undeniably _Zack_ that he couldn't help but be soothed.

Zack grinned and reached out a hand to ruffle the blond spikes he so adored.


	2. See the Sun

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownage.

I was gonna wait longer to post this one since it's the title piece, but today is Zack's birthday and that warranted something special. This one is especially close to me, and I certainly hope you enjoy it.

For Zack- in memoriam.

-

**See the Sun**  
Dido

Cloud woke slowly, blinking as the blue-tinted sunlight filled the room, filtering in through the curtains and touching everything with its gentle glow. This was not his room. Awareness made its way back into his foggy brain as he heard Tifa, already up for the day, tinkering about at the bar downstairs, and he raised his head slightly to take in his familiar and yet still completely alien surroundings. Where had he expected to be, exactly? This was the room he'd stayed in off-and-on for the past few years, but he supposed in the end that it still wasn't _his_.

Sighing softly, he carefully shoved the thoughts of the places he'd rather wake up back into the corner of his mind where he kept all of the things he'd rather not think about. He rolled over onto his stomach and buried his face in the soft pillow, trying for all the world to grasp unconsciousness and fall back into blessed sleep for awhile longer.

_A warm pair of hands, broad and calloused, began to massage his shoulders. "C'mon," a quiet voice said, coercing gently, "it's time to get up. You don't wanna be late, do ya?"_

_Cloud smiled softly. He yawned and stretched languorously, mumbling something along the lines of 'fivemoreminutes' and attempting to snuggle back down into the sheets._

"_Oh, no ya don't," the voice said then, and all of a sudden Cloud found himself being heaved forcefully out of bed._

Cloud blinked from his new standing position, brain still trying to comprehend how his feet had managed to make it to the floor. He sighed. Up now, might as well get ready. He shuffled quietly across the hall, not wanting to wake the children, and shut and locked the door of the bathroom behind him. He stood at the mirror for a moment, slow brain once again trying to understand how he had gotten to this point. The hard line of his jaw, the dark circles, the pallid skin, and that ethereal glow in his eyes that still shone slightly in the half-light of the morning... it had been hard enough adjusting to having fallen unconscious when he was sixteen and waking up twenty-one, but since when had he become an old man?

_An arm was slung over his shoulders as another face appeared in the mirror behind him. "You're pretty and all," the dark-haired man laughed, eyes twinkling, "but are you just gonna stand there and stare at yourself all day?"_

_Cloud scowled then, but his still-tired facial muscles came out with something considerably closer to a pout, so he abandoned the action hastily, electing instead to turn on the water and splash his face. The weight left his shoulders as a hand came down to ruffle his hair._

"_Fifteen minutes, Spike," the voice reminded as the tall figure walked out, leaving the door open wide._

Cloud pulled on his boots and gloves numbly. Phone? He grabbed the sleek black device from the nightstand and shoved in into his pocket. Check. Sword? Hefting the thing from where it was leaning against the wall, he carefully slid it into place at his back, pausing for a moment to enjoy the comfortable weight of the thing. Check.

Memories? Cloud stared at his gloved hand, feeling the numb mask slip ever so slightly for an instant. _Reaching, stretching out a tired limb and trying to grasp the fading figure at the edge of his green-tinted vision-_

A quiet clang from downstairs broke Cloud from his brief spell. Shaking his head to clear the thought, he once again shoved those thoughts back to their corner and walked down the stairs.

"Delivery today?" Tifa asked from behind the bar. He nodded curtly and headed for the door. Seeing this, Tifa planted her hands on her hips and chided him lightly, "No breakfast? That's not healthy, Cloud."

He raised a hand to wave her off, but the sight of that glove again triggered something at the back of his mind. How long had he owned this pair, anyway? Years, probably. He couldn't remember.

"_C'mon, Spike, it's a big day today. You can't afford to pass out in the field just because you skipped breakfast, now, can you?" Rumbling laughter, and Cloud scowled again as those broad hands on his shoulders lead him somewhat forcibly to a seat._

After a cup of coffee and half a slice of toast Cloud finally made his way out the door and into the bright sunlight. Blinking at the momentary spots in his eyes, he swung one leg over Fenrir and revved the engine. A beep from his phone made him pause, and he flipped open the device to see an e-mail from Barrett: **Cloud! How u been?**

Cloud shoved the phone back into his pocket with a sigh.

_The hand came down for about the fifth time that morning to ruffle his hair. "Go get 'em, Spiky!" Zack exclaimed, chuckling slightly._

_Cloud attempted to give the raven-haired man an annoyed glare, but it quickly melted and he was grinning, laughing as the SOLDIER cackled, sunlight shining in his hair, sunlight all around, warmth in the air and sunlight on his skin._

Cloud glanced up for a moment before taking off, seeing the grey clouds that covered Edge and the light that was just barely poking through overhead.

Something in his chest twitched—something that felt distinctly like friendly violet eyes and black spikes and big, warms hands and bone-crushing hugs—and Cloud felt his lips turn up into a ghost of a smile.

There wasn't much sun in Edge just yet. But the day was only beginning, after all.


	3. Gravity

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownage.

-

**Gravity**

John Mayer

Zack panted heavily and leaned against a sturdy tree. He was careful not to drop his precious cargo, however tempting it may have been to just dump his load and collapse. He let his sword fall to the ground as he slid down himself, setting his companion down beside him as gently as possible and propping the prone figure up against the tree trunk.

"Sheesh, Spike! You're heavier than you look, y'know?" Zack looked down at the silent boy, knowing that his friend was, in fact, not very heavy at all. Time spent on barely survivable rations coupled with mako poisoning had done quite a number on the little blond's physique. Zack knew he wasn't doing so well himself, but running from the ShinRa army with a SOLDIER sword and your best friend on your back was nothing if not a workout. Zack was exhausted in a more-than-physical way.

"Maybe we could just rest here for tonight..." Zack yawned and felt his eyes beginning to droop. "Whaddaya think, Spike? Are we safe for tonight?"

The blond was unresponsive as ever. His eyes were half-slitted, and Zack could see in the dark of the early dusk that a glow of mako radiated from the unfocused pupils. Suddenly, Zack didn't feel quite so tired.

Cloud had wanted to be a SOLDIER more than anything. He had wanted dangerous missions and mako enhancements and a rough-and-tough army-style life. And yet, somehow, Zack got the feeling that this was not at all what the blond had had in mind. On the run from ShinRa, having barely escaped and been badly poisoned by a mad scientist... Zack was fairly sure it had not been on Cloud's list of priorities.

And, when it came down to it, it had really been Zack's fault. He was supposed to protect the cadet- it was his job as a SOLDIER and as a friend, and he had failed. He hadn't managed to save Sephiroth from insanity, and in the end he hadn't even managed to kill the madman; it was Cloud who had taken the brunt of that trial. Didn't he owe the kid something, at least?

It was his job to get them to Midgar. They had to get to Midgar. And when they were there they would find Aerith and she would fix Cloud up nice and good and everything would be alright. Zack didn't have time to rest just yet.

He hefted the unresponsive blond up onto his back once more, saying, "On the road again, eh, Spike?" Sword in hand once more, Zack trudged onwards to Midgar.


	4. Mitternacht

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownage.

-

**Mitternacht**

E Nomine

It was midnight in Hojo's lab.

Cloud huddled in the corner of his cell, listening to the sounds of the laboratory. Various groans and mutters could be heard almost constantly from all around, but it was worst at night, when all the ambient noise of expensive machinery and the occasional piercing scream from Hojo's experimentation could no longer mask the miserable environment.

The noises, mostly animalistic, were uttered from cells much like his own. Misery and terror hung in the air in a hazy stench of sweat and mako. How anyone could survive in this place with their sanity intact was practically beyond Cloud's comprehension.

And yet, the few times he saw Zack when he was being taken out for testing, the raven-haired ex-SOLDIER had seemed incomprehensibly... unmiserable. The man always gave him a smile and, when his hands were free, sometimes even a thumbs-up. It was a little sad and ironic, but not disheartening. Seeing Zack coping was what kept Cloud sane.

Cloud pressed himself closer into the corner of his tiny prison, trying for all he was worth to shrink into a tiny dot and disappear. Midnight was the worst time. It was when he felt the farthest from everything, the most deeply embedded in Hojo's sick little world and the farthest of all from Zack. The truth was that the raven-haired man was only a few cells over, but things seemed so much more distant in the dark.


	5. Never Think

Time for something a little more lighthearted!

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownage.

WARNING: Contains mild Twilight bashing. Twilight fans, I mean no real offense—I've read the books myself. But if you can't laugh at yourself at least a little then you're missing out on a hell of a lot of laughs, and where's the fun in that?

This one... is a bit odd. For anyone who's heard the song, I ask you this: what in Shiva's name is it about?! I can't understand a word of the lyrics, so when the song popped up on my ipod... this is what came out. Think: inane mumblings.

Sorry this one's a bit cracked out, but I figured it was time for a break from all that angsty stuff. XP

AU, in a "the characters are college students!" kinda way. Why yes, I did just BS a whole bunch of science words. Pay them no mind; they're like the man behind the curtain—purely plot device. Please enjoy nonetheless!

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**Never Think  
**Robert Pattinson

Zack struggled silently to keep his head upright as he sat through yet another of Hojo-sensei's lectures. The sciences had never been one of his strengths. Still, it said something that even Cloud, who was freakin' _majoring_ in the subject, couldn't focus on the professor's inane ramblings. Nothing interesting ever happened in biochemistry.

"...so from these results we can determine that the test subject's sensitivity to the H-receptors in the quantum magnification system of development..." Hojo droned on. Zack wrote: _something something where in the case of blahdey blah and oh dear Shiva I wanna be outside right now, it's such a gorgeous day..._

He also wrote what he wanted for lunch, his plans for the weekend, and miscellaneous doodles ranging from wild chocobos to epic space-ship battles and pudding lasers. Zack was booored.

How was it possible for ShinRa University's top scientist (who, according to lab activity records, spent more time experimenting than teaching and sleeping combined) to be so mind-numbingly, mumblingly _tedious?_ I mean, give the man super-strength, speed, and the tendency to sparkle in the sunlight and he'd _still_ put doctorates to sleep.

Zack giggled at that mental image, deciding to add it to his margin mural. He placed sparkly-Hojo at the controls of the pudding-laser aimed at a particularly fierce-looking chocobo, then leaned back to admire his work. Of course, that was the moment when Cloud leaned over for his hourly "make-sure-Zack-is-still-awake" checkup. Assured that the troublemaker was fully conscious, the quiet young man glanced down at the object of Zack's attention.

"..."

Zack grinned. Quickly sketching in rocket-feet for the chocobo, he scrawled "WHO WOULD WIN?" across the top of the page and shoved it under Cloud's nose.

"Pass this to Reno, willya?" he hissed none-too-quietly.

Cloud just gave him a _look_. "What?" Zack grinned winningly.

Unfortunately, this happened to be the moment that Hojo pulled his eyes away from his notes for a moment long enough to realize that—Ifrit forbid—something was actually _happening_ in his class. "Is something the matter, gentlemen?" he asked sharply from over the rim of his glasses.

Zack's eyes widened theatrically. "Not at all, sir," he said with blatantly feigned innocence. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Reno received the paper. The redhead's eyes widened for a moment, and then he burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter; Zack smirked, looking for all the world like the cat who'd caught the canary.

Hojo, having had enough of this disturbance, stalked over to the redhead's desk and looked critically down at the source of Reno's amusement. Zack watched as the scientist's face went from pasty white, to red, to purple in a matter of seconds. He wondered vaguely if that was some kind of record.

Hojo glared. "You," he said, looking down at Reno, "and you," he directed his attention to Zack, who attempted vainly to wipe the smirk from his face. "Detention. Thursday. My office."

Reno groaned. Zack shrugged, not really caring either way. Detention was probably more entertaining than this class.

As the flustered scientist made his way back to the front of the room to continue his lecture, Zack pondered. Perhaps interesting things _could_ happen in biochemistry.

It just took a little sparkle, is all.

-

A/N- Time to place your bets: Vampire-Hojo + Pudding Laser vs. Super-Strong Chocobo + Rocket-Feet! WHO WILL WIN?


	6. I'm Not Wearing

**A/N: **Another old one, for the hell of it. Please forgive the terrible pun- I simply couldn't resist.

PS: For those of you who placed bets on the Hojo vs. Chocobo battle, here is how it went down: Hojo quickly took out the chocobo's rocket-feet by gumming them up with his pudding laser. Then, following a very intense one-on-one cage match, they reached a stalemate upon the realization that the chocobo could no more peck Hojo-the-Vampire to death than Hojo could wring his Feathery Foe's sinewy neck. After a cool-down period, they did lunch. They have been close friends ever since.

Enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I claim no ownage.

-

**I'm Not Wearing Underwear Today**

Avenue Q

Cloud shifted uncomfortably for about the millionth time in his seat, and Zack, seeing this from his place at the front of the classroom, paused in his lecture for a moment to frown.

"Something wrong with your uniform, Spike?"

Cloud flushed to a deep crimson as the attention of the class was turned to him. He mumbled something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Zack insisted, taking no pity upon the shy blond.

"Laundry day..."Cloud mumbled again. The tips of his ears were now tinged slightly pink.

Zack's eyes widened, and then he burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh, Cloud," he chuckled heartily. "We're all soldiers here; that sort of thing is practically expected!"

The class burst out into fits of giggles, and Zack, taking some bizarre form of pity upon the small cadet that was now trying for all he was worth to sink into the floor, leaned over and, with a characteristic twinkle in his eyes, said conspiratorially, "After all, you know the General-"

"_Zack!_" Cloud all but squeaked, covering his face with his hands.

Zack leaned back, slightly affronted. "Alright," he consented. "I'm just sayin', is all. It ain't no shame for a military man to go commando."


End file.
